2006-03-22 – ODDS AND ENDS: ULTIMATE FLICKS, MINIATURE CLIX AND SOME UNLIMITED TRICKS

It’s time for another mixed bag here at Comics 101, as I’ve got a few topics on my mind that don’t quite warrant the full column treatment, but I’d like to open up for discussion nonetheless. (And in case you missed it, don’t forget to check out my report from the Wizard World Los Angeles convention last Saturday.) Let’s get right to it.

MORE LIKE THE MOSTLY KINDA DECENT AVENGERS

Marvel Films’ debut direct-to-video animated feature ULTIMATE AVENGERS hit stores in recent weeks, and while I don’t think anyone’s going to be comparing it to animated superhero classics like THE IRON GIANT or THE INCREDIBLES anytime soon, it was a mostly satisfying little flick that’s well worth taking a look at.

I think part of the problem is it’s neither fish nor fowl, being not enough like Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s THE ULTIMATES to really please ULTIMATES fans, and not enough like the classic Lee/Kirby AVENGERS (or Thomas/Adams, or Shooter/Perez, or Stern/Buscema, or Busiek/Perez, for that matter) to make old-school fans really happy either. Instead it was enough like THE ULTIMATES to keep those fans interested, while toning down a lot of the more controversial stuff from that series in an attempt to keep the traditionalists happy. As the saying goes, the man who tries to serve two masters serves neither well, and I can’t help that think that the end result might have been better had they fully committed to one vision or the other.

Not that I’m saying ULTIMATE AVENGERS is bad, it’s just not as good as it could be, not by a long shot. The animation varies from passable to pretty solid in places, while the character designs are a little bland, not having either a distinctive Bryan Hitch feel or the smooth, streamlined Bruce Timm style I’ve gotten so spoiled with over the years. Produced and overseen by longtime Marvel animation guy Bob Richardson (who’s worked on everything from SPIDER-WOMAN to SPIDER-MAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS to the ‘90s FOX SPIDER-MAN animated series), the movie boasts a few other familiar names in the credits, including BATMAN and SUPERMAN alumni Boyd Kirkland, who co-wrote the script, and Curt Geda, who served here as co-director.

The plot is sturdy enough if a little dull in spots, with much of the running time taken up with the Avengers’ recruitment by Nick Fury, and the dialogue, while it fails to really crackle with wit or vitality, doesn’t embarrass either. The voice acting is also serviceable, if a touch dull, which is still far superior than the usual animation trend of packing recognizable celebrities in every vocal part, who then don’t even bother to act, instead coasting through on their usual shtick (Yes, I’m looking at you, Ray Romano.) Only Olivia D’Abo’s performance as the Black Widow came across as too much – I was half-expecting her to start asking where they could find the moose and squirrel.

There’s a bit of a Captain America/Black Widow romance that’s teased at here, but doesn’t really get enough time to go anywhere.

Along the same lines, we get a hint of the troubled Hank and Jan Pym relationship without jumping straight to the spousal abuse, which showed a bit of restraint, I thought, and the script’s portrayal of Pym as an enthusiastic amateur whose strength makes him as a much of an asset to a fight as his inexperience makes him a liability was well done. Bruce Banner is used well, and the slow revelation of his Hulkish backstory is handled nicely, coming as a nice surprise to folks who don’t know their Marvel comics chapter and verse. Similarly, the revelation of Iron Man’s identity is used as a nice dramatic swerve for viewers who might not know what Tony Stark does with his downtime. But there are also moments that don’t quite add up, or make the viewer stumble, such as Nick Fury’s ability to change from a combat stealth suit to a full button-down coat-and-tie dress uniform in about seven seconds, or Fury’s outing of Tony Stark’s secret identity over a loudspeaker during the film’s climactic battle scene.

Still, there are two sequences in the movie that are by themselves worth the price of admission. The film opens with a WWII-era Captain America adventure that’s very well executed, and closes with a raging kickass fight scene between the Avengers and the Hulk, which, since I’m not extremely familiar with the ULTIMATES comics, came as a nice little surprise.

It’s a brutal exchange, with, by way of an example, the Hulk cannily kneecapping Giant-Man and then going right for his throat.

There are great throwaway moments here, such as the Hulk at first not being able to pick up Thor’s hammer, a notion recognizable to longtime Marvel readers, but then, in what I guess is a desire to be different, the Hulk picks it up and begins whomping Thor with it. So why even tease the moment, if it’s not going to mean anything?

I think the biggest problem I have with ULTIMATE AVENGERS is the same problem I had with the ULTIMATES comic: the revised origin and the Samuel L. Jacksonification of Nick Fury. The decision to reconceive Nick Fury as a carbon copy of actor and confessed comics fan Jackson always seemed like a crass and obsequious move designed to hopefully entice Jackson into playing the part on film, and it still rankles me to this day. The bigger problem for me is the revised Avengers origin, which is essentially Samuel L. Fury walking around from superhero to superhero and saying “Hey, wanna join a superhero team?” Not exactly dramatic, inspirational stuff. As dated as the original Avengers origin might seem to some people, it’s actually pretty inventive stuff: Thor’s evil half-brother Loki frames the Hulk for an attack on a passenger train, in the hopes of luring Thor into pursuing the Hulk, and thereby into his trap. Loki’s efforts also attract the attention of Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, who join in the pursuit of the Hulk, before Thor discovers Loki’s treachery and the heroes team up to defeat him. Granted, maybe it’s not the most believable turn of events ever, but it’s sure as hell a lot more fun and interesting than just walking around handing out monogrammed invitations like Nick Shaft is doing here. In fact, even Stan Lee himself thought so, as he wrote in his book SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS back in 1975:

As you can imagine, it wouldn’t make a terribly interesting story merely to have someone send the others a note inviting them to join a group of superheroes. We had to find a unique and exciting way of bringing this ill-assorted group together, and that meant introducing a villain who could be the catalyst.

The real surprise to me was the excellent (if too short at only about half an hour) documentary about the AVENGERS comics in the Special Features section of the DVD, which to my shock devoted the lion’s share of its time to the Kurt Busiek/George Perez run, with lengthy interviews of Busiek, Perez and editor Tom Brevoort. Also mentioned prominently was the Joe Casey/Scott Kolins EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES miniseries, again surprising in its inclusion. Bendis’ AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED and NEW AVENGERS were mentioned as well, but not with anywhere near the focus as the other two, a decision which came as a bit of a head-scratcher, considering how much of an emphasis Marvel puts on Bendis these days. Even more curiously, Millar and Hitch’s THE ULTIMATES is barely mentioned at all, which mystified me, considering how much of it was used as source material. But for a Busiek/Perez fanboy like me, this was great stuff (and it’s also good to see Perez seeing a lot of interview time lately, both here and on the new TEEN TITANS DVD, as I’d heard he’s had some health problems in recent years, which forced him to cancel a few convention appearances, so I’m glad to see him on-camera, vital and enthusiastic about his work)

ULTIMATE AVENGERS isn’t a classic by any means, but it’s solid, enjoyable work that the people involved can be proud of, and certainly a decent enough start for Marvel Films’ new animation division. Would you like to see it for yourself? Well, thanks to the good folks at Lion’s Gate, we’ve got four copies of ULTIMATE AVENGERS to give away to four lucky Comics 101 readers. And in addition, our own partners at Earth-2 Comics will provide a fifth copy, to a lucky winner who lives in the Los Angeles area and can come by the store to claim it. How to qualify? Nothing like a good old-fashioned trivia question, methinks. The first five readers to correctly answer the following will get the DVD for their very own (and by the way, if you’re a Southern California resident, make sure and let me know):

The Avengers’ resident archer, Hawkeye, long maintained that he had been trained by the Avengers’ adversary (and later martyred member) the Swordsman. However, it was later revealed that he was actually trained in the bow and arrow by someone else. Name him.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your search engines.

SOMETIMES A GOOD IDEA JUST CLICKS

As much as I’ve discussed both Toy Biz’s and DC Direct’s action figures in these pages over the years, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned Wizkids’ HEROCLIX line of gaming miniatures, a truly astounding collection of figurines based on characters from the DC and Marvel universes that manages to impress me more with each new assortment released.

The game itself is a unique notion –think of it like checkers if you had to duke it out mano-a-mano for every individual square on the board. As each character takes damage for the fight, the player “clicks” the dial in the figurine’s base to reflect his new status quo – hence the name “HeroClix.”

As the collection has grown over the past few years, what’s impressed me is the level of comic-book obscurity the good folks at Wizkids are willing to wallow around in, with characters like the 1970s Spider-Man with six arms, Ambush Bug, Arnim Zola, and even characters from specific books like THE ULTIMATES or KINGDOM COME.

And there are so many in release now that all kinds of superhero teams can be put together, darned-close-to-full memberships of everyone from the Avengers to the Justice League to the Champions to the Suicide Squad.

And they’ve been out long enough that older figurines can be gotten pretty cheap. If you’re hitting any of the big conventions this summer, check ‘em out.

NO LIMITS

What’s turned out to be the final season of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED continued in fine form the last two weeks, with a couple of episodes that provided some moments I never expected to see in TV animation. Such as, I hear you ask?

How about Deadman, for example. Considering that the TEEN TITANS producers weren’t able to use the “Deathstroke” name for their lead villain, I never would have thought an actual dead guy with the word “Dead” right in his name would have passed muster. Deadman was used to excellent effect here in the episode “Dead Reckoning,” with his backstory subtly and succinctly explained, with even an appearance being made by his personal deux ex machina Rama Kushna. The emotional climax of the episode came when the ghostly Deadman, in a panic, took possession of Batman’s body in order to prevent Devil Ray from killing Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, he used a pistol to do it, to lethal effect, and the shot of Batman regaining control of his body with the realization that there’s a smoking pistol in his hand is heartbreaking.

As for the next episode, “Patriot Act,” well, there was just so much to like here, it’s hard to know where to start. The opening, with a “who’d-a-thunk-it” appearance from the Golden Age Fawcett hero Spy Smasher putting a stop to the creation of Captain Nazi during World War II, has to be one of my favorite surprise cameos of the entire series. And this was from an episode with its fair share of surprises.

The main story involves the League’s military adversary from last season, General Wade Eiling, going to torturous extremes to prove his point that the Justice League is a threat to national security, transforming himself into a super-strong monster and heading to Metropolis with the express intention of taking out Superman. Unfortunately, Superman (and most of the League as well) is otherwise engaged, and subbing for him in what was supposed to be a purely ceremonial appearance are a few of the League’s less formidable members: Green Arrow, Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., the Shining Knight and the Vigilante. It’s great to finally see longtime but little-known favorites of mine like the Knight and the Vigilante finally getting some time in the spotlight, with FIREFLY’s Nathan Fillion providing a downright charming performance as Vigilante, and Sir Justin getting a great heroic moment against the vastly more powerful General. And best of all, the JLU production brain trust goes the extra mile for us old-school fanboys, providing two last-minute guest appearances to complete the membership of the Seven Soldiers of Victory: the Crimson Avenger and Speedy, Green Arrow’s sidekick, making his first and presumably only JLU appearance.

Like all of the rest of you, I’m not at all happy that JLU won’t be coming back, but at least we’re getting primo DC Universe goodness before the shop closes down.

DETAILS, DETAILS, DON’T BOTHER US WITH DETAILS

DC Comics’ in-house toy company, DC Direct, has made some great leaps forward in quality in the last few months after a shaky 2005, with a lot of products suffering from poor construction and wildly uneven paint operations. This year’s products have been much better. However, they’ve shown a bewilderingly cavalier attitude in promoting the products lately, neglecting to publicize some features that would have probably gotten them some extra sales if people had known about ‘em.

For example, the new 13-inch-scale Green Lantern action figure, already a pretty impressive piece, comes with a power battery that lights up with the twist of the lantern’s base. It’s an eye-catcher:

Even more on the down-low was the new Elongated Man figure from the second IDENTITY CRISIS assortment, which was advertised as including interchangeable “stretchy” arms. So I was surprised to discover this:

Seems to me you might want to put “Extendo-neck” somewhere on the package, but what do I know…

NO RESPECT, I TELL YOU, NO RESPECT AT ALL

A tip of my cap to reader Scott Morris, who recently alerted me to the fact that the good folks at DC Comics used a passage from this column’s discussion of the Spectre for a pull-quote on the back cover of last year’s collection of the excellent Fleisher/Aparo Spectre stories, WRATH OF THE SPECTRE.

I was befuddled at the news, not only because no one at DC ever called and asked permission to use the quote (not that I would have cared, or objected to it, by any means), but also because I remembered buying and reading the new collection and had no recollection of seeing my name anywhere.

A visit to my bookcase at home told the tale. Take a look for yourself:

Sure enough, the quote was there, but in rather small red lettering on a black background, so I felt a little better about missing it the first time. But here’s the rub: they didn’t even use my name, or the column’s name, just the name of a certain Web site that anyone reading this now knows I happen to no longer be affiliated with:

To quote the late great Rodney Dangerfield, I don’t get no respect…

AND FINALLY…

A little credit where it’s due: Marvel editor Tom Brevoort recently re-instituted the venerable “Bullpen Bulletins” editorial page in his books, and included a classy and all-too-appropriate nod of acknowledgment in the masthead, listing Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Joe Simon and Dick Ayers as “Founding Fathers,” and the late Mark Gruenwald as the “Patron Saint of Marveldom.”

Good show, Tom.

Scott Tipton is very stoked that he’ll soon be getting Vigilante and Shining Knight acton figures. Come on, Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E.! If you have a question about comics, send it on along to stipton99x@comics101.com.

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